"Teacher, absolutely not. The hawks should indeed be dealt with harshly, but the doves... they are all firm supporters of Konoha."
Minato frowned tightly and tried to persuade him sincerely.
"Then only kill the hawks."
"As long as the doves behave themselves and don't have crooked thoughts, they will be safe.", Arisu spoke decisively and settled the matter directly.
"This..."
Minato's voice stopped, his face full of hesitation and difficulty.
Looking at Arisu's cold profile, he found himself caught in an unprecedented dilemma.
His teacher had already taken a step back, changing from wiping out the whole clan to wiping out only the hawks.
———
Three days later, just after dusk, Arisu met Uchiha Itachi in the quietest side room of Konoha's Six Paths Temple.
Only a single lamp was lit in the room. The dim yellow light stretched Arisu's shadow long, with most of his face hidden in heavy darkness.
"You understand the matter of the Uchiha clan."
"I'll give you a mission. Eliminate every hawk faction member on this list."
"When it's over, your family will be safe.", Arisu spoke calmly and casually tossed a scroll in front of Itachi.
Itachi bent down and picked up the scroll, slowly opening it.
The candlelight reflected on his pale profile, and his eyelashes cast tiny shadows beneath his eyes.
He read it word by word. His fingertips turned slightly white from gripping too hard, and he remained silent for a long time.
"What will become of me after it's done?", Uchiha Itachi finally spoke in a low voice.
"Infiltrate the Akatsuki and work as a spy."
"Once the overall situation is settled, Konoha will clear your name and give you your innocence back."
With his hands behind his back, Arisu looked at the dark sky outside the window.
Itachi's hand tightened around the scroll, and the paper let out a faint cracking sound.
He raised his eyes toward the blurry figure in the shadows. Pain, unwillingness, and determination churned in his narrow black eyes before finally sinking into dead silence.
He knew he had no other choice.
In front of a great figure who could turn the clouds and rain with a flip of his hand, he had always been nothing more than a chess piece on the board, unable to control his own fate.
Uchiha Itachi dropped heavily to one knee and lowered his head as he accepted the order.
"I understand!"
Before the words had fully fallen, a faint ripple of chakra brushed past his nose.
Itachi suddenly looked up. At some point, Arisu had silently appeared in front of him. The hem of his clothes still carried the slight breeze from his instant movement.
Arisu raised a hand and gently patted Itachi's shoulder.
"You don't need to carry too much. One day, we will meet again in the Pure Land and begin a new life."
"You don't need to blame yourself too much either. Sometimes, taking life is done to save life.", Arisu's calm voice comforted Uchiha Itachi.
A faint bitter smile appeared at the corner of Itachi's mouth.
"Lord Arisu, as one of Konoha's Two Lights, you also believe in something as vague and unreal as the Pure Land?"
"The Pure Land truly exists."
Arisu slowly shook his head, without the slightest trace of a joke in his eyes.
"You should look through the top-secret records of the First Great Ninja War."
"You know about the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, right?"
Arisu paused and looked at Itachi.
Itachi nodded.
"I've heard a little about it, but I always thought it was just an unproven rumor."
"It isn't a rumor."
"The records of the First Great Ninja War state that when Hokage Assistant Senju Tobirama first completed the technique, the first group of dead people he summoned..."
"They described the appearance of the Pure Land to everyone with great joy."
"But after only a few breaths, they were forcibly dragged back by an invisible and irresistible force, leaving not even a trace of their souls behind."
Arisu looked into the distance as he spoke, "Something like that actually happened..."
Itachi's pupils shrank slightly.
He had indeed seen that record before, but he had always treated it as a false report caused by battlefield chaos.
Now that it came from Arisu, one of Konoha's highest-ranking figures, its credibility was extremely high.
After a long time, Uchiha Itachi slowly let out a breath, and the tension in his shoulders eased slightly.
"I understand."
Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and bowed once more before quietly withdrawing.
The golden light of the setting sun spread over Konoha's courtyard walls.
Arisu pushed open the creaking wooden gate and walked into the yard.
On the stone-paved ground, Tsunade was crouching halfway down, holding Yukio's clenched little fist and correcting the way he threw punches bit by bit.
Patiently, she taught him how to precisely gather chakra on his fist and use the most basic Super Strength Punch.
"Tsunade, I want to send him to Shikkotsu Forest to learn the sage arts there."
Arisu slowly walked to the corridor and spoke.
Tsunade suddenly froze.
She abruptly raised her head, her wide eyes full of disbelief.
"Have you gone crazy?!"
"How old is Yukio? Even my grandfather, Senju Hashirama, only dared to touch the threshold of Shikkotsu Forest's sage arts when he was already in his twenties."
"How can such a young child endure the backlash of natural energy?", Tsunade spoke with concern.
"It's fine."
Arisu simply waved his hand lightly. His eyes fell on Yukio, who was tilting his head and looking at them in the distance, and his tone was certain.
"If I let him learn ordinary chakra refinement step by step, that would truly be wasting his talent."
"His physique is naturally close to natural energy. He's more suited than anyone to walk the path of sage arts."
Arisu really did think it would be a waste.
At first, he had been thinking about which sage art Yukio should learn.
Considering that Yukio couldn't possess all sage arts at the same time like he could, he had to be careful when choosing.
Arisu wasn't very hopeful that Yukio would be like him.
Even he had spent several hundred years completing the fusion of sage arts.
And he wasn't sure whether Yukio had inherited his immortal physique.
Tsunade's brows knitted tightly.
In fact, she had noticed it long ago. Every time this child refined chakra, there would always be a faint and gentle aura around him.
It was something only people who had come into contact with sage arts could recognize, the scent of natural energy.
Tsunade stayed silent for a while before finally giving in.
"I can let him try. But if he shows the slightest discomfort, or if there are signs of natural energy going out of control, I will stop the training immediately. No one can stop me."
"Alright. I'll leave Shikkotsu Forest to you."
Arisu nodded seriously, accepting the agreement.
"Don't worry. I have connections with Shikkotsu Forest.", Tsunade smiled proudly.
Arisu neither agreed nor disagreed. In terms of connections, it seemed he really hadn't been to Shikkotsu Forest for a long time.
Ever since he began cultivating, he had rarely gone there.
The last time he went...
It seemed to have been when Indra was still alive.
However, Sage Slug often sent clones to congratulate him on his birthday and bring gifts.
Arisu's expression stiffened. He had originally wanted to go and take a look, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. He would wait until the Boruto storyline arrived and everything had been arranged before going.
Right now, Momoshiki and Kinshiki still hadn't appeared, and he remained cautious.
Arisu returned to the house alone to cook.
At the same time, Uchiha Itachi prepared his clothes and tools, getting ready for a slaughter that night.
"The list of hawks..."